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HSBC pre-tax profit up 32% at $6.1 bn, revenue down

AFP, Hong
Kong : HSBC saw pre-tax profit
surge 32 percent year on year in the third quarter on the back of lower fines
the banking giant announced Monday, but revenue dropped in the wake of Asian
market volatility. Group chief executive Stuart Gulliver said the performance
was "resilient" but that revenue had been affected by stock market
sell-offs in Asia, with revenue down four percent. The Asia-focused lender
announced in June that it would cut its global workforce by up to 50,000 and
sell off its businesses in Brazil and Turkey as it seeks to cut costs.
"Our cost-reduction measures are beginning to have an impact on our cost
base," Gulliver said, but added that there was "more to
achieve". The bank is also looking at possibly moving its headquarters
away from Britain but said there was a "considerable amount of work still
to do" before a decision is made. "Whilst the target for completion
of the review was initially set as by the end of 2015, this is a self-imposed
deadline that can be moved should the Board require further work to be
performed," the report said. Adjusted operating expenses were up two
percent year on year, partly due to investment in regulatory programmers and
compliance, the report said. HSBC was fined late last year by US and British
regulators for attempting to rig foreign exchange markets. In February, it was
forced to apologies for "unacceptable" failings at its Swiss division
following allegations that the unit helped rich clients hide billions from the
taxman. It has faced a storm over claims that it helped clients from around the
world dodge taxes on accounts containing 180 billion euros ($204 billion)
between November 2006 and March 2007, in cases that are being investigated in
several countries. HSBC is also
facing a French criminal probe over the affair. The rise in third-quarter
pre-tax profits was partly due to lower fines and settlements, the report said.
HSBC
agreed in June to pay Geneva authorities 40 million Swiss francs ($40 million)
to settle a money laundering investigation at its Swiss private bank.